Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c16.114

c16.114

It may thus be noted that the term *yoga* from its root meaning "to join" has developed three connotations: (1) It signifies a process by which the individual self is brought into contact with the Brahman, the Absolute, the realm of the spirit; (2) it stands for *Samādhi* which is a condition of integration, of "joining together" all the mental functions; (3) it stands for a primary stage of disjunction (*viyoga*) of desires from their objects. The inner impulses, disoriented from the external world, amalgamate into a single stream of psycho-vital impulse that seeks its kinship with the higher spiritual life. The first of these meanings implicates a metaphysical doctrine; the second is based upon the facts of transformation that the mind undergoes; and the third is formulated on the ground of the practices of the Yoga system.